Coalport China Museum

Located on the banks of the Shropshire Canal, Coalport China Museum is one of the ten Ironbridge Gorge Museums. Housed in the former Coalport China Works since 1976, the Museum contains important national collections of Coalport and Caughley china.

 

 The Coalport Works were founded by John Rose (1772-1841), a local farmer’s son, in 1796 and began trading as John Rose and Edward Blakeway & Co. By 1800, Coalport was Britain’s largest china manufactory. China continued to be manufactured at Coalport until the Works closed in 1926 and the company moved to The Potteries, Stoke-on-Trent.

 Caughley china had been produced at a nearby factory (just south of the River Severn near Broseley) since the 1750s. John was once apprenticed to Thomas Turner (1749-1809), one of Caughley’s founders.

 

 In 1800, Thomas established a rival porcelain manufactory on the opposite side of the river having entered into a partnership with Quaker ironmaster William Reynolds (1758-1803) and William Horton (trading as Reynolds, Horton & Rose).

 

 Following William’s death in 1803, his cousin Robert Anstice went into partnership with Horton & Rose. In 1814, John brought-out his brother’s manufactory and during the same year production at Caughley ceased.  The Coalport China Museum is housed in buildings on the site of Thomas Rose’s former factory and the YHA. now occupy John Rose’s former manufactory on the opposite side of the Canal.